Kitchener Stitch

Kitchener stitch is a technique for invisibly weaving together live stitches.

Knitters tend to shy away from learning this stitch because it seems complicated when all written out, but it’s actually very simple to do; the only real challenge is keeping track of where you are in the steps.

Step 1: Thread a tapestry needle with the same yarn you used to work your project. Hold the needles with the live stitches parallel in your left hand. Insert the tapestry needle through the first stitch on the front needle as if to PURL. Pull the yarn through, leaving a tail that you will weave in later. Leave the stitch on the front needle.

Step 2: Insert the tapestry needle through the first stitch on the back needle as if to KNIT, pull the yarn through, leaving the stitch on the back needle.

Step 3: Insert the tapestry needle through the first stitch on the front needle as if to KNIT, pull the yarn through, removing the stitch from the front needle.

Step 4: Insert the tapestry needle through the first stitch on the front needle as if to PURL, pull the yarn through, leaving the stitch on the front needle.

Step 5: Insert the tapestry needle through the first stitch on the back needle as if to PURL, pull the yarn through, removing the stitch on the back needle.

Step 6: Insert the tapestry needle through the first stitch on the back needle as if to KNIT, pull the yarn through, leaving the stitch on the back needle.

Repeat Step 3 – Step 6 until all stitches have been worked. Every few stitches, adjust the tension of your work, making sure not to pull too tightly. Remember, you are making an extra row of knitting rather than sewing together a seam.

Thanks for the really clear video. I’m using it on the Vite Cowl (http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vite-cowl). For purl stitches do we just reverse the stitches (stitch knitwise where the directions say to stitch purlwise, and vice versa)?

After watching many videos, I found your it’s the more complete and easy way to do it, I am making 17 pairs of socks! My first attemp with your instructions, was a complete success, beautiful finish. A little explanation what to do with the last stich will be helpful. I did it my way put it in inside and hidden the end? Thanks a million.

Continue the steps as instructed until you can no longer! You will slip off the last stitch onto your darning needle and then make sure to weave in your end securely. That step can always help you mask any imperfections at the edges.

Excellent video and instructions but very hard to see because of a box that floats down as I scroll asking about saving to favourites and the previous and next posts which I think is the website not my computer. It obscures the left hand side of everything and I am left reading the top inch of the screen where I can see the whole width (I’m doing this as I type now). Any idea as to how can I get rid of this? Thanks.

Which hand do you normally hold the yarn is as you knit? Left handed knitters should usually be able to follow the same instructions but just using your left hand. If you prefer to knit everything in mirror image, we don’t have a tutorial for that technique at the moment. Some left handed knitters hold up a mirror to the tutorials to help them visualize the instructions!

Is there an alternative bind off that gives a similar level of elasticity? I knit left-handed continental and cannot find useful instructions for the Kitchener stitch. I carry stitches on the left needle and “pick” the stitches with the right needle, holding the yarn in my right hand. I’ve had knitting teachers tell me that they have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, but my work comes out as it should. However, not so with Kitchener stitching. I end up with twisted stitches.

Thanks for writing in! If the only problem with your kitchener stitch is that your stitches look twisted, that is not a big problem at all. It’s my assumption that you are inserting your tapestry needle as if to knit through the back loop instead of through the front of the stitch. If you knit through the back loop naturally then you will twist your stitches when inserting your tapestry needle the same way for kitchener. I hope I’ve shed some light!

That is a wonderful question. For the purl stitches, all you should have to do is reverse the steps from the order that you normally would proceed if they were knit stitches. Here is a video that helps you graft stitches in 2×2 rib. I hope this helps! Please write in again if you have any other questions! -Alyson

Thank you so much for wriing in! You will continue the steps as instructed until you can no longer! You will slip off the last stitch onto your darning needle and then make sure to weave in your end securely. That step will help you mask any imperfections at the edges. Happy knitting!

Thanks for the tutorial! Both the video and the written explanation are very helpful. This may be a silly question, but can kichener be used to join together a garter stitch piece? If yes, would it be worked any differently than what is in your tutorial? Thanks in advance!

I’m working on finishing up my shawlette. It has ha me work a knitted cord cast off across the center lace panel stitches as follows: *k2, ask,return stitches to the left needle and repeat from * until only the two sets of three I-cord stitches remain. I am at this point. It saws to cut yarn and GRAFT the knitted cord sections together. I can not seem to find any info on grafting two sections of I cord. Kitchener Stitch? Don’t want to spoil the project at this point. Thank you for you help.

Yes, grafting is often used interchangeably with Kitchener stitch in certain patterns. It will be a little odd to be doing Kitchener in the round, but the technique is the same. Best of luck and please let us know how it turns out! -Alyson

Hello, do you think kitchener stitch would work on your chevron scarf? I would like to knit two separate pieces and graft them together in order to have the same look at both ends. I’m worried that by grafting it may destroy the chevron design, perhaps that is why your pattern does not attempt this idea.

Thank you for writing in! Sorry about the delayed response! I am not sure I know what scarf you’re thinking of. I believe that as long as the two pieces of fabric that your are grafting together fit together like pieces of a puzzle you should be able to kitchener them together without destroying the chevron design. Please let us know if you have further questions.

I’m doing an attached i-cord with a provisional cast on. When joining the two ends of the i-cord do I treat the yarn used for the cast on as a needle and carefully unravel it where it says to remove the stitch from the needle?

That is a great question, that you for reaching out. You will want to carefully unravel the provisional cast on and slip those live stitches onto a spare double point, or any kind of needle for that matter. You will then kitchener the 2 i-cord ends together. I hope that helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.

very easy to understand but i need to know how to do this on a provisional cast on and live stitches on another that are both circular needles in the round. making a knitted headband with a lining and suppose to graft together the cast on and cast off stitches but confused on how to hold the needles would you beable to explain that to me? i will be grateful!!

Thanks for writing us! Firstly, pick up your stitches from your provisional cast on and remove the scrap yarn. Divide your stitches in half and put one half on a double pointed needle and then do the same for the other half, starting with your beginning of round stitch. Repeat this for your “cast off”, starting with your beginning of round stitch. Now you will orient the two tube ends together so they “kiss”. Make sure that your beginning of round stitches match up and that you are not twisting the tube. Holding the two “beginning of round” double points together (cast on and cast off), start your kitchener stitch, continuing on to the second double point when the time arrives. I hope this was clear. It’s much easier to show than to type!

Thank you so much for this tutorial. I was looking at your 3 needle cast off, where you suggested kitchener stitch instead. Really clear instructions, I would have struggled to understand otherwise. Thank you

I’m about to start the Kitchener stitch on your Lovely Lace Leaf scarf but I’m not sure what to do with the two live yarns from the two separate pieces. I’ll use the yarn from the back section, but don’t know what to do with the front. Thanks!

That is a very good question! Once you have stitches the 2 ends together you can simply weave the other end into the work as you do with any other end. I hope that helps. Please let us know if you have any other questions.

I used a different tutorial to do a Kitchener stitch and the results were bad enough that the project ended up in my frogged pile. Thanks for this tutorial! Kitchener stitching makes sense and a rescued pair of socks. Success

Thanks for writing in! We do not have a seed stitch kitchener tutorial, but there are many videos for seed/moss stitch grafting and 1×1 ribbing grafting on YouTube. I would start there. Since there are so many videos, I rather you pick which one you understand best rather than me giving you one video. Good luck and happy knitting!

I am knitting an old fashion hat for a toddler – the last step is to weave 2 rows of ‘live’ stitches together using weaving/Kitchener stitch. After a last knit row of the hat, I was to leave a long tail for weaving and cut it at about 18″. I am using 2 regular needles – the tail is at the end of one of the needles where the flat end is – not the point….how do I use the tail to weave when – from all the information I’ve read, the weaving is supposed to start at the pointed end of the needles? Should I just leave the tail and begin with another length of wool at the pointed end of the needles? Help!

Thanks for your question! If you are cutting your yarn at the end of your last row, then your 18″ tail should be at the point of your needle because it was cut from your working yarn. However, if it’s not, then you can certainly do kitchener stitch with unconnected yarn. You’ll just need to eave in your yarn ends into the inside of the hat. I hope this helps!

I have finished a beautiful lace shawl called “Lace Shawl” by Alice Halbeisen. She says to use a Kitchener Stitch to graft the two pieces together, but I want to make it totally invisible. The problem is that at that spot the two sides will be mirror images instead of continuing the pattern. Hmmm….any suggestions?

Thanks for writing us! I would trust in the designer’s pattern and follow it exactly. Maybe, with the way the lace forms, the shawl will come out seamless. The only way to know is by doing a few inches of kitchener stitch to see how it forms. If it isn’t seamless, then there is no sure-fire way to graft lace together since every lace pattern is a little different. Let us know how it goes though!

A previous comment says you can use the working yarn for this. Is it different than the tutorial? Or do you start the same? I have a beanie knit in the round from the base up and it requires a Kitchener stitch to close the top for a squared look. I did one beanie and cut a long piece of yarn for the Kitchener stitch, but it’d be nice if I could figure out how to use the working yarn so I don’t have so many ends to weave in. Thanks!!

Thanks for writing in! You can certainly use your working yarn for the kitchener. Here we used a contrast yarn to illustrate the technique more concretely. You can use your working yarn, just follow our instructions as written with the attached yarn!

I’ve always been more than slightly afraid to try this, but I just knitted up the Gilmore Girls A Year in the Life MKAL and needed to finish the cowl. These instructions are amazing! My cowl finished up beautifully. #GGMAKL16

Thank you for writing in! You’ll want to use a provisional cast-on to keep your cast-on stitches “live” so that they can be knit later. This will allow you to use the kitchener stitch! We’ve got two tutorials that cover provisional cast-on’s, the first is a Two-Step Method and the second is a One-Step Method. Please let us know if you have further questions!

I have seen some tutorials that do not include the set-up steps for the first stitch on each needle. Have you heard of that?Rather, they start right in with the knit off/purl on for the front needle then purl off/knit on for the rear needle. Is the set-up optional? What purpose does it serve?
Thanks for helping sort out this confusion.

Thanks for writing us. The set up steps are essential for a better edge or seamless join when grafting. I’ve tried not doing the set up steps in my work and find that it doesn’t give me as neat of an edge. Hope this helps!

I’m knitting a fox for my granddaughter and have come across this stitch for the very first time. Thank you for a clear video and instructions. Had a few goes but finally mastered it. Very loose at first but managed to tightened it up in the end. Have bookmarked your site for the future.

Hi there
I have finally finished knitting my Purl Soho sweater and have to use the Kitchener stitch for the armpits. Can you tell me how to finish this new row of stitches? What do you do when you get to the end?
THANKS

Thanks for writing in! The kitchener stitch will close up the gap and finish off the underarm. It will not create a a new row of stitches that need to dealt with. Rather at the end, you will have just a tail that needs to woven in on the inside of the sweater!

Hi there, I’m finally grafting the underarm stitches using Kitchener for the Lightweight Raglan Pullover. If I did this correctly, the working yarn is on the right side of the live stitches for the left sleeve (when looking at the sweater as pictured), but the working yarn is on the LEFT side for the right sleeve. Since the tutorial shows working the Kitchener stitch from right to left, do I use a separate piece of yarn to graft instead of the working yarn on the left? Please help!

Thanks for writing in! I find it so much easier to kitchener stitch from right to left so if that is easiest for you too I would recommend doing it that way! The only difference is that you need to weave in an extra tail.